Piper PA-32-300 N666DE

Summary

On 25 December 2001 at about 16:16 local time, a Piper PA-32-300 registered N666DE was involved in an accident near Olathe, Kansas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 December 2001 at 16:16

Classification

Accident

Location

Olathe, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Johnson County Executive (OJC)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper PA-32-300

Registration

N666DE

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Olathe → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI02LA056

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during landing resulting in the overload of the nose gear fork. The overload failure of the nose landing gear fork, the embankment, and the remedial action not possible were contributing factors.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was damaged when it went off of the left side of the runway, crossed a parallel taxiway and went down an embankment during landing. The pilot stated that when he applied the brakes during the landing, "...it felt like the left brake 'grabbed' and jerked me to the left. While still on the runway I applied power and right rudder to try to straighten me out. I immediately [went] left very quickly on to the grass." Subsequent to the accident, the nose landing gear fork was found fractured in two places near the attachment to the strut portion of the landing gear. No other anomalies were found with respect to the airplane, or its systems that were determined to have existed prior to impact. The nose landing gear fork was examined by the National Transportation Safety Board's Materials Laboratory. The fork was found to have deformation consistent with excessive lateral loading. The fracture surfaces were examined and both fractures exhibited signatures consistent with overstress. No evidence of fatigue or preexisting damage was found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.